The circle of vulnerability and the myth of choice

Abstract

Purpose People living with a disability (PWD) are often a marginalized vulnerable group who are economically and socially disadvantaged. This paper aims to explore the implementation of new social and financial policy reforms aimed at transforming the disability sector. Using the capabilities approach, the authors explore the experience of carers and evaluate how this sector may have become more exposed and vulnerable as a consequence of the new policy. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative study with two rounds of semi-structured interviews; at initial-phase (n = 18) and post-phase (n = 14). Thematic analysis was applied to the capabilities and vulnerabilities framework to categorize and analyze the interview data. Findings The findings show that there are many ways PWD and carers are experiencing increased levels of vulnerability because of their capabilities. There is evidence of increased vulnerability in the intersections between PWD/carers’ inherent nature, the disruption to vital social relationships and conflicting values and interests of stakeholders and the complexity of situational policy changes. Practical implications Practical implications developed from the findings include identifying ways the government can improve its social marketing communication strategies. They also highlight the importance of building effective social support networks and provide guidelines for measuring capacity building to address some of the underlying factors leading to vulnerability. Originality/value This paper introduces into social marketing, the three-factor vulnerability framework, which conceptualizes the nature of vulnerability, and examines and evaluates the intersections of these factors in relation to the capabilities approach.

The 5R Guidelines for a strengths-based approach to co-design with customers experiencing vulnerability

“…A second contribution for social marketing is the identification of the importance of language in framing the social issue and designing the solution, expanding on previous research in this area (Small et al, 2020). Language has recently been highlighted as a key component of market-shaping, the evolution of markets over time through networked structures and ecosystems (Pels et al, 2022).…”

Accounting and neoliberal responsibilisation: a case study on the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme

“…Yet few studies discuss the changes perceived by people with disabilities as beneficiaries of the scheme. Most recipient-focussed studies simply explore the barriers to accessing the NDIS (Barr et al, 2021), the vulnerabilities brought by the NDIS for carers (Small et al, 2020) and carers perspectives toward the service providers' capabilities (Hurley and Hutchinson, 2022). Cortese et al (2021) is one exception to this rule in that this work alludes to the impact of neoliberalism on people with disabilities.…”

“…Most recipient-focussed studies simply explore the barriers to accessing the NDIS (Barr et al. , 2021), the vulnerabilities brought by the NDIS for carers (Small et al. , 2020) and carers perspectives toward the service providers' capabilities (Hurley and Hutchinson, 2022).…”

Bringing social marketing closer to the disability field

“…In line with this claim, the definition of social marketing as the application of marketing principles to shape markets that are more effective, efficient, sustainable and fair in advancing people's well-being and social well-being (Phils et al2008;Lefebvre, 2012;Zainuddin et al, 2017) is closely related to the objectives pursued by the European disability strategy 2010-2020 and has been applied to specific disability challenges. Some examples found in marketing and health journals are: improving early identification and treatment of autism (Daniel et al, 2009); the development of communication strategies and social reforms to transform the disability sector (Small et al, 2020); the use of marketing to assess the factors that influence whether training and employment services for people with disabilities are considered satisfactory (Peltier and Scovotti, 2004;and Scovotti and Peltier, 2005); and a corporate social marketing intervention that successfully changed employee attitudes and increased donations to a disability cause (Bennett and Vijaygopal, 2019).…”